- Glebelands are pro-Super Dairy
- Tony’s too tired
- Ed’s speaking for Grundy Senior
- Let the stooshie commence!
- Pray silence … Ruth wants to speak
- Who won?
Glebelands are pro-Super Dairy
As Debbie and Brian are driving to the Parish Council meeting about the Super Dairy, Brian’s pondering who he can count on for support.
[Brian] “Richard Thwaite … I’ve found more support around Glebelands commuters than the farming families in the village. What’s got into people? Can they see that this development could create jobs … just wish I could stuff Pat in a box for the evening. Seriously Debbie, she’s on the warpath!”
Maybe the commuter chaps do support the dairy because they don’t actually spend enough time in the village.
Tony’s too tired
[Pat] “Come on love,. Stir your stumps. The meeting starts at half past”
But Tony doesn’t want to go. The poor man is exhausted, and just wants a bath and bed.
Pat isn’t impressed, but relents. She does, however, take Henry out of the car and tells Tony to look after him. Seems Helen had been worried anyway about him being at the meeting.
[Pat] “It’s the least you can do … democracy can’t afford to sleep”
To make matters worse for Tony, henry is also in a lively mood. So will need entertaining.
Seriously – unless everyone lets up on Tony, he’s not going to be with us for much longer.
Ed’s speaking for Grundy Senior
Seems Joe is feeling too old and cold to make the meeting, so Ed’s speaking up for him.
[Ed] “Look at the size of it. Whatever happened to the lowly cowboy?”
Seems Will doesn’t concur.
[Ed] “I swear he’s only taking Brian’s side to spite me!”
Aye, probably
Let the stooshie commence!
We didn’t get to hear all of Debbie’s opening speech, but it end with - drive for exports – create jobs – economy recover – great Britain play role in feeding the world …
[Debbie] “Ladies and gentleman, the big picture!”
To which she receives a smattering of clapping, but sounded like the same amount of grumbles.
Pat’s up next:
[Pat] “I found it quite hard to picture one hundred thousand, five hundred cows, that sounds so much more than fifteen hundred doesn’t it?
“Then I thought of the opening credit of Rawhide, hundreds and hundreds of steers crossing the horizon, silhouetted against the plains of Texas, or should that be Hungry, then I remembered that the cows in this dairy unit won’t be moving across America on a cattle drive, they’ll all be cooped up together in a tin shed up the road.
“ It’s not only the monstrous scale of this project that offends people, it’s the power it represents. We haven’t asked for something the size of an aircraft hangar to blight the landscape”
Debbie claims the shed is a “beautiful” design that can also be screened with trees. And it must be god, to ensure economies of scale.
Ed asks Debbie about the impact on smaller dairy producers.
[Debbie] “No competition Ed. We’ll be sending milk power to Asia, not putting pints on doorsteps”
Brian tells Ed to listen to Mike (who is in favour of the Super Dairy), which earns him a few boos.
[Debbie] “But it’s a bold vision. You shouldn’t be afraid of enterprise”
Pat then points out that Debbie won't have to live with the Super Dairy, as she’ll be managing it from Hungry. And most of the BL Board also don’t live locally, so again won’t have it on their doorstep.
[Ruth] “Where’s the local accountability?”
Debbie answers that they’ll have staffing and onsite management.
Pat asks about the all the building, and the access roads.
[Pat] “It’s more tarmac over the countryside”
[Brian] “It’s our lands, not yours”
Ed’s worried about traffic on the small country lanes. He needs to move cows twice a day.
[Ed] “That’ll be a daily hazard for my herd, and then my livelihood. So much for me not being affected!”
[Pat] “I can well see the shareholders wanting to milk the cash cow even more, and wanting to extend. And what if you can’t compete with the US economies of scale Debbie? You’ll be looking to dump the milk cheaply on the supermarkets, and that’s bound to impact in the small dairies”
And Ruth reckons that Debbie actually wants smaller local dairies to go under so that they can switch to growing arable for the Super Dairy.
[Ruth] “Not everyone agrees with your grazing system Ruth … so why are you trying to stop us doing things our way?”
Pat asks why there are less than a dozen Super Dairies in Britain? She thinks it’s because welfare is less than to be desired.
Debbie answers with - own water trough - room to lie down and move round - locally employed staff trained in husbandry - spend much of time indoors, standards of care far higher than smaller dairies (blah blah)
[Pat] “Except the high yields that you want mean yours will be worked far beyond their natural capabilities … cows in intensive units have to be dosed up to the eyeballs with antibiotics”
[Brian] “I assure you there’ll be the most pampered cows in Borchestershire. And we don’t anticipate any problems with hygiene. Unlike some local enterprises which have experienced infection problems in recent months …”
That gains Brian’s a lot of boos, and a “that was below the belt” from Ed.
And good on Pat – she doesn’t rise to the bait. She focuses instead on the issue at hand.
[Pat] “But, are people aware that this development has a pollution potential of a small town … What guarantee are there that the digester can cope with all the slurry”
[Brian] “Environmental safety is our biggest concern … “
Which raises a lot of laughter.
[Pat] “Well I’m not reassured!”
Pray silence … Ruth wants to speak
[Ruth] “Cows belong on crass. That’s what they do.
“They ruminate, and grass allows them to express their natural behaviours. However modern the breed, it’s in their genes.
“I agree a well-run zero grazing system can produce high yields as well as high welfare, and I wouldn’t accuse Borchester land of cruelty, but it's plain wring to regard cows simply as vehicles for milk production. If it’s to produce high quality and nutritious food, a dairy farm should be part of the landscape, in tune with the natural rhythms of the animal and the seasons. Not just a food factory, however well run”
Well done Ruth. Beautifully put indeed.
Who won?
Hard to tell.
If it hadn’t been for Brian being a complete boor (as per), Debbie might have been the voice of reason.
But, the Pat, Ed and Ruth combo was (I felt) just that bit stronger.
Debbie thanked David for his neutrality as NFU President (then got a dig in about badgers – just when did Debbie get so bitchy?). And Brian was thankful for small mercies.
[Brian] “Thank god Adam didn’t show up .. Annabelle seems to think it’s gone okay”
[Debbie] “Relax Brian. Just keep hold of the big picture”
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